Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
104.2 0045 D Berliner Rundfunk 91.4, Frankfurt (Oder) Booßen (brb) Bryan Ferry song,
as web. Two second burst 951km **
104.2 0108 D Landeswelle Thüringen, Inselsberg (thü) Now familar German song, as web.
Four second burst 739km **
104.2 0112 AUT Energy 104,2, Wien 5/RiFu Arsenal (wie) Pops, as web 1256km **
104.2 0337 POL Radio Zet, Bialogard or Jelenia Góra Pops, as web **
104.2 0430 BEL AFN PowerNet, Casteau-Shape (wal-hnt) Big burst above v weak scatter. US OM
over guitar song. 386km **
104.2 0504 LVA LR 1, Rezekne/Griskani (Rez) Latvian OM, as web. Two second burst 1762km **
104.2 0716 AUT KRONEHIT, Hallein/Zinkenkogel (sal) Pop song, as web. Two second burst 1090km **
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Some long meteor bursts overnight, occasionally lasting up to 30 seconds or more.
Sporadic E:
There were two brief bursts of Slavic/Balkan Es earlier this evening at 1817, both times on 87.8 and 88.5.
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
Wednesday, 7 May 2014
Tuesday, 6 May 2014
Skegness Log: 06-05-14 (FM)
Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
89.1 1031 CZE CRo Radiozurnál, Plzen/Krazov (PL) OM, as web 947km **
89.1 1051 NOR NRK P1, Multi-tx Sadly not on local programming **
89.1 1059 D Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Bonn-Bad Godesberg/Heiderhof (nrw)
German rap piece, as web 543km **
89.1 1111 G BBC Radio 2, Multi-tx MS enhancement to Wrotham **
92.4 1158 SVN Val 202, Plesivec (Urslja Gora) (sg) Jazz, as web 1282km **
92.4 1201 ? UNID English news. News in British English
92.4 1238 NOR NRK P1, Melhus/Vassfjellet Vassfjellvegen (st) Local programming. Pops,
as web 1265km **
92.4 1305 D RBB Kulturradio, Berlin/Scholzplatz (brb) Classical music, as web
868km **
92.4 1401 I RTL 102.5, Multi-tx. Sinnai and Rocca Di Papa most likely OM Vocal ID **
92.4 1612 D SWR1 Baden-Württemberg, Witthoh (Tuttlingen) (bwü) Level 42 song, as web.
Eight sescond burst 834km **
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Meteor pings, bursts and flutters are on the increase again!
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
89.1 1031 CZE CRo Radiozurnál, Plzen/Krazov (PL) OM, as web 947km **
89.1 1051 NOR NRK P1, Multi-tx Sadly not on local programming **
89.1 1059 D Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Bonn-Bad Godesberg/Heiderhof (nrw)
German rap piece, as web 543km **
89.1 1111 G BBC Radio 2, Multi-tx MS enhancement to Wrotham **
92.4 1158 SVN Val 202, Plesivec (Urslja Gora) (sg) Jazz, as web 1282km **
92.4 1201 ? UNID English news. News in British English
92.4 1238 NOR NRK P1, Melhus/Vassfjellet Vassfjellvegen (st) Local programming. Pops,
as web 1265km **
92.4 1305 D RBB Kulturradio, Berlin/Scholzplatz (brb) Classical music, as web
868km **
92.4 1401 I RTL 102.5, Multi-tx. Sinnai and Rocca Di Papa most likely OM Vocal ID **
92.4 1612 D SWR1 Baden-Württemberg, Witthoh (Tuttlingen) (bwü) Level 42 song, as web.
Eight sescond burst 834km **
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Meteor pings, bursts and flutters are on the increase again!
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
Monday, 5 May 2014
Skegness Log: 05-05-14 (FM)
Band 2 General Scatter:
99.6 0945 HOL Radio Gelderland, Zaltbommel/Hulpweg (nbr) Pop song, as web on Hoorn fade
367km **
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
99.6 0945 HOL Radio Gelderland, Zaltbommel/Hulpweg (nbr) Pop song, as web on Hoorn fade
367km **
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
Recent DX Videos
Here are some video grabs of scatter propagation from the last few days. These were recorded with CamStudio - software I am still having problems with. It will suddenly stop recording for no apparent reason. When it does this, it won't automatically save what has just been recorded and truncates it to the first few seconds. Other times I have been able to record as much as three hours worth of video.
CamStudio does have some very useful features though, so I will keep using it for a while at least.
YouTube have done the usual thing of blocking some of the audio, and even some of the video, giving their usual messages: "Matched third-party content"; "Audio muted due to claim"; "Video blocked in some countries". Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about this.
CamStudio does have some very useful features though, so I will keep using it for a while at least.
YouTube have done the usual thing of blocking some of the audio, and even some of the video, giving their usual messages: "Matched third-party content"; "Audio muted due to claim"; "Video blocked in some countries". Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about this.
Sunday, 4 May 2014
Skegness Log: 04-05-14 (FM)
Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
87.6 1109 E esRadio, Santiago de Compostela (GAL-C) E287. Live listening 1315km **
Band 2 General Scatter:
97.4 1242 D Deutschlandradio Kultur, Brocken (san) OM, descriptive talking, as web
712km
95.3 1254 D YOU FM (hr), Hardberg (hes) Dramatic YL song, as web 712km
101.7 1258 D Radio Salü, Saarbrücken/Schoksberg (saa) News before the hour! As web 628km
99.0 1300 D hr1, Hoher Meißner (hes) ID and news 684km
100.3 1305 D Planet Radio, Eisenberg (Neuenstein) (hes) Pops, as web 677km
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
87.6 1109 E esRadio, Santiago de Compostela (GAL-C) E287. Live listening 1315km **
Band 2 General Scatter:
97.4 1242 D Deutschlandradio Kultur, Brocken (san) OM, descriptive talking, as web
712km
95.3 1254 D YOU FM (hr), Hardberg (hes) Dramatic YL song, as web 712km
101.7 1258 D Radio Salü, Saarbrücken/Schoksberg (saa) News before the hour! As web 628km
99.0 1300 D hr1, Hoher Meißner (hes) ID and news 684km
100.3 1305 D Planet Radio, Eisenberg (Neuenstein) (hes) Pops, as web 677km
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
Saturday, 3 May 2014
Körner 9.2 Installed at the new QTH!
It took two months to get there, but I finally got the Körner 9.2 antenna on the roof at the new QTH. It has actually been installed for about two weeks now so I can give a better overall assessment of general reception.
To recap. We moved to a new bungalow almost three months ago, where getting permission should have been simpler, in theory. In reality it became rather complicated but we got there in the end.
So how is reception? Is it any different at the new QTH? Is the FM band any noisier?
"Yes" and "No" are the respective answers. Reception is actually better (I had expected it to be no different), though I don't think any of us escape the noise levels completely these days. I haven't. There is a slight noise to the south when horizontal, but it's not a major problems. It varies in strength too. It sounds like nothing I have heard before. It is a 50Hz hum for about 15 minutes and then it becomes white noise. At 10dB it is not going to be a major problem, though I have occasionally seen it up to 20dB and has been known to come in on different bearings. I am fully aware things can change at any moment, such is the level of 'borrowed time' we are all living on regarding noise levels.
Reception to the east is surprisingly good. I now have regular daily scatter from German transmitters like Heidelstein, Kreuzberg-Rhon, Brocken, Torfhaus, Inselberg and Hoher Meissner, all delivered daily on tap! Their signal strengths vary from non-existent to noise free (if I am lucky). Many other less common German transmitters are audible on a daily basis too such as Saarburg, Bad Marienburg, Donnersberg and Bielefeld. The nearer transmitters like Langenberg, Aachen, Munster, Bonn, Gottelborner Hohe, Kleve and Barbelkreuz peak to noise free levels and can reach PI code level on a good day via scatter. Even local stations in Nordrhein-Westfalen are creeping through on good days. I have so far identified 105.2 Radio RST, Schoppingen, 106.9 Radio Euskirchen, 107.4 Radio Wuppertal, Wuppertal via scatter. Naturally, these signals are very weak.
To the north-east, I hear Lingen, Aurich, Bremen, etc. almost constantly, plus occasional scatter from Rangstrup in Denmark and even Bjerkreim in south-west Norway. Heide and Flensburg flutter up and down occasionally too, very weakly.
Reception to the south is disappointing, however. I cannot explain this. The 9.2 'sees' a reasonable take-off in all directions. I can still receive Kippure, Mount Leinster and Clermont Carn on an almost daily basis, but northern transmitters like Caen and Rouen struggle. Brest can be OK at times, but moving to more distant transmitters such as Troyes and Bourges and I struggle. Some you win, some you lose.
Reception inland is worse too, which is good thing as far as I am concerned. But the FM band is more solid with continental transmitters from Holland and Belgium. This is nice but some of them are now frequency blockers for more distant transmitters.
Overall, I am very happy with the situation, but while some DXers say I am very lucky to be able to receive so many continental transmitters, you have to remember that many of them are now my 'locals' in a sense and can actually be a nuisance.
Friday, 2 May 2014
Skegness Log: 02-05-14 (FM)
Band 2 General Scatter: (Pre-amp Test)
95.5 0817 D SR 3 Saarlandwelle, Göttelborner Höhe (saa) Pops, as web. Testing pre-amp 629km
87.8 0833 D WDR 2, Schwerte/Sommerberg (nrw) Pops, as web. Testing pre-amp 525km
107.1 0834 D SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Haardtkopf (rlp) Noise free. Schlager. Testing pre-amp
593km
91.8 0837 D WDR 2, Hohe Warte (nrw) Almost noise free. Bangles song, as 93.3. Testing Pre-amp
544km
95.0 0839 D hr-info, Rimberg (hes) ID and Ukraine news. Testing pre-amp 678km
87.9 0841 D MDR Figaro, Inselsberg (thü) Classical. Weak on NPO fade. Testing pre-amp
739km
103.4 0843 D Radio ffn, Osnabrück/Schleptruper Egge (nds) Almost noise free. Pops, as web.
Testing pre-amp 525km
103.0 0846 D BFBS Radio, Bielefeld/Hünenburg (nrw) Pops, as web. Noise free. Testing
pre-amp 564km
101.9 0848 D WDR 5, Aachen/Stolberg (nrw) Mixing Peterborough and Goes. Testing pre-amp 483km
102.7 0852 D Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Nordhelle (nrw) Clobbering Peterborough. Testing pre-amp
553km
103.5 0853 D Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Torfhaus/DTAG (nds) YL on phone, as web. Testing pre-amp
707km
107.0 0855 D WDR Eins Live, Olsberg (nrw) Ads, as 107.9. Noise free on A/S peak. Testing
pre-amp 592km
105.3 0857 D B5 aktuell, Kreuzberg (Rhön) (bay) YL, as web. Testing pre-amp 732km
105.3 0858 D NDR Info, Schwerin (mev) German OM, as web, mixing Kreuzberg. Testing pre-amp
739km
90.4 0904 HOL SubLime FM, Hoorn/Electronweg (nho) Chic song, as 90.7. Testing pre-amp 325km
89.5 0917 HOL 100% NL, Alkmaar or Utrecht. Probably the latter. Country song, as web. Testing
pre-amp
99.0 0925 D hr1, Hoher Meißner (hes) Very fluttery but almost noise free on peak. UB40, as
web. Testing pre-amp 684km
100.2 0928 HOL BNR Nieuwsradio, Lochem/Streek Beton (gel) Dutch OMs talk, as web. Testing
pre-amp 426km **
102.8 0931 D Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Wesel-Büderich (nrw) OM, as 102.0. Testing pre-amp 456km
104.0 0936 D big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Koblenz/Kühkopf (rlp) Decent, clear signal. Pops,
as web. Testing pre-amp 590km
92.1 1033 D NDR 2, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds) Virtually noise free. Pops, as web. Testing
pre-amp 707km
98.0 1034 D NDR 1 Niedersachsen, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds) Buddy Holly song, as web.
Dominating Lille. Testing pre-amp 707km
97.4 1036 D Deutschlandradio Kultur, Brocken (san) Almost noise free. YL, as web. Testing
pre-amp 712km
101.7 1039 D WDR 4, Kleve/Bresserberg (nrw) German song with bagpipes and ID. Testing
pre-amp 420km
102.6 1040 D NDR 2, Stadthagen/Bückeberge (nds) Pops, as web. Peaking above Tournai. Testing
pre-amp 606km
** Personal Skegness 'First'
I plumbed in my Fringe Electronics 22dB pre-amp today, remembering how good this used to be at the old QTH. Back then, it was installed at the mast head, but today I only connected it by the receiver, just to see if it made any difference. The Fringe Electronics pre-amps are known for their good signal-to-noise figures.
I suspect it DID make a difference as I heard more continental DX than I have heard here to date. It enabled me to hear NDR Info from Schwerin on 105.3 for the first time on scatter anyway, so that seemed very promising.
The one thing I didn't like with the pre-amp inline was the increase in general FM mush, which you are bound to get, but when signals peaked they really did seem to be relatively noise free compared with the reception I am used to. I just prefer to listen to an FM band without any horrible mush. I will have a play with this again at some point, but probably not in a hurry, and connect it in such a way that I can make quicker 'before and after' comparisons. Instant comparisons are necessary with constantly fading scatter.
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
95.5 0817 D SR 3 Saarlandwelle, Göttelborner Höhe (saa) Pops, as web. Testing pre-amp 629km
87.8 0833 D WDR 2, Schwerte/Sommerberg (nrw) Pops, as web. Testing pre-amp 525km
107.1 0834 D SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Haardtkopf (rlp) Noise free. Schlager. Testing pre-amp
593km
91.8 0837 D WDR 2, Hohe Warte (nrw) Almost noise free. Bangles song, as 93.3. Testing Pre-amp
544km
95.0 0839 D hr-info, Rimberg (hes) ID and Ukraine news. Testing pre-amp 678km
87.9 0841 D MDR Figaro, Inselsberg (thü) Classical. Weak on NPO fade. Testing pre-amp
739km
103.4 0843 D Radio ffn, Osnabrück/Schleptruper Egge (nds) Almost noise free. Pops, as web.
Testing pre-amp 525km
103.0 0846 D BFBS Radio, Bielefeld/Hünenburg (nrw) Pops, as web. Noise free. Testing
pre-amp 564km
101.9 0848 D WDR 5, Aachen/Stolberg (nrw) Mixing Peterborough and Goes. Testing pre-amp 483km
102.7 0852 D Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Nordhelle (nrw) Clobbering Peterborough. Testing pre-amp
553km
103.5 0853 D Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Torfhaus/DTAG (nds) YL on phone, as web. Testing pre-amp
707km
107.0 0855 D WDR Eins Live, Olsberg (nrw) Ads, as 107.9. Noise free on A/S peak. Testing
pre-amp 592km
105.3 0857 D B5 aktuell, Kreuzberg (Rhön) (bay) YL, as web. Testing pre-amp 732km
105.3 0858 D NDR Info, Schwerin (mev) German OM, as web, mixing Kreuzberg. Testing pre-amp
739km
90.4 0904 HOL SubLime FM, Hoorn/Electronweg (nho) Chic song, as 90.7. Testing pre-amp 325km
89.5 0917 HOL 100% NL, Alkmaar or Utrecht. Probably the latter. Country song, as web. Testing
pre-amp
99.0 0925 D hr1, Hoher Meißner (hes) Very fluttery but almost noise free on peak. UB40, as
web. Testing pre-amp 684km
100.2 0928 HOL BNR Nieuwsradio, Lochem/Streek Beton (gel) Dutch OMs talk, as web. Testing
pre-amp 426km **
102.8 0931 D Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Wesel-Büderich (nrw) OM, as 102.0. Testing pre-amp 456km
104.0 0936 D big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Koblenz/Kühkopf (rlp) Decent, clear signal. Pops,
as web. Testing pre-amp 590km
92.1 1033 D NDR 2, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds) Virtually noise free. Pops, as web. Testing
pre-amp 707km
98.0 1034 D NDR 1 Niedersachsen, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds) Buddy Holly song, as web.
Dominating Lille. Testing pre-amp 707km
97.4 1036 D Deutschlandradio Kultur, Brocken (san) Almost noise free. YL, as web. Testing
pre-amp 712km
101.7 1039 D WDR 4, Kleve/Bresserberg (nrw) German song with bagpipes and ID. Testing
pre-amp 420km
102.6 1040 D NDR 2, Stadthagen/Bückeberge (nds) Pops, as web. Peaking above Tournai. Testing
pre-amp 606km
** Personal Skegness 'First'
I plumbed in my Fringe Electronics 22dB pre-amp today, remembering how good this used to be at the old QTH. Back then, it was installed at the mast head, but today I only connected it by the receiver, just to see if it made any difference. The Fringe Electronics pre-amps are known for their good signal-to-noise figures.
I suspect it DID make a difference as I heard more continental DX than I have heard here to date. It enabled me to hear NDR Info from Schwerin on 105.3 for the first time on scatter anyway, so that seemed very promising.
The one thing I didn't like with the pre-amp inline was the increase in general FM mush, which you are bound to get, but when signals peaked they really did seem to be relatively noise free compared with the reception I am used to. I just prefer to listen to an FM band without any horrible mush. I will have a play with this again at some point, but probably not in a hurry, and connect it in such a way that I can make quicker 'before and after' comparisons. Instant comparisons are necessary with constantly fading scatter.
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
Thursday, 1 May 2014
Skegness Log: 01-05-14 (FM)
Band 2 Sporadic E:
89.4 2045 ALG Chaîne 1, Tiaret - Gzoul (14) Arabic music, as web 1976km
94.0 2046 ALG Chaîne 1, Aïn N'sour (48) Arabic music, as 89.4 1913km
87.7 2047 ALG Radio Chlef, Aïn N'sour (48) Presume Chlef. Web stream down. As 87.6 1913km
87.6 2048 ALG Radio Laghouat, Aflou (3) Presume Radio Laghouat. Arabuc music, as 87.7 2120km
Band 2 General Scatter:
93.8 1043 G BBC Radio Scotland, Durris (SC-ABS) V weak between BBC Radio 4s, as 04.3 461km
94.3 1044 G BBC Radio Scotland, Black Hill (SC-NLA) Tropo? Stable-ish. Noise free peak
405km
92.7 1045 G BBC Radio Scotland, Forfar (SC-ANG) Presume Forfar as 103.7 in. As 94.3 430km
103.7 1047 G BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal, Forfar (SC-ANG) Gaelic music, as 104.2. V weak
430km
104.2 1049 G BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal, Meldrum (SC-ABS) OM, as 103.7 501km
91.8 1601 F France Musique, Bourges/Neuvy (18) First time at the new QTH. OM news, as 88.7
672km
The beginning of the day saw some tropo to Scotland. I wasn't sure at first whether this was unusually good scatter or the end of the previous evening's tropo. I suspect it must have been the latter in view of the stability of the signals.
The end of the day saw a brief sporadic E opening to Algeria, reaching 94 MHz. The opening served the purpose of answering the question will will have been on many DXer's lips: "Does Algeria have RDS yet?". The answer would appear to be "No". :O(
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
89.4 2045 ALG Chaîne 1, Tiaret - Gzoul (14) Arabic music, as web 1976km
94.0 2046 ALG Chaîne 1, Aïn N'sour (48) Arabic music, as 89.4 1913km
87.7 2047 ALG Radio Chlef, Aïn N'sour (48) Presume Chlef. Web stream down. As 87.6 1913km
87.6 2048 ALG Radio Laghouat, Aflou (3) Presume Radio Laghouat. Arabuc music, as 87.7 2120km
Band 2 General Scatter:
93.8 1043 G BBC Radio Scotland, Durris (SC-ABS) V weak between BBC Radio 4s, as 04.3 461km
94.3 1044 G BBC Radio Scotland, Black Hill (SC-NLA) Tropo? Stable-ish. Noise free peak
405km
92.7 1045 G BBC Radio Scotland, Forfar (SC-ANG) Presume Forfar as 103.7 in. As 94.3 430km
103.7 1047 G BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal, Forfar (SC-ANG) Gaelic music, as 104.2. V weak
430km
104.2 1049 G BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal, Meldrum (SC-ABS) OM, as 103.7 501km
91.8 1601 F France Musique, Bourges/Neuvy (18) First time at the new QTH. OM news, as 88.7
672km
The beginning of the day saw some tropo to Scotland. I wasn't sure at first whether this was unusually good scatter or the end of the previous evening's tropo. I suspect it must have been the latter in view of the stability of the signals.
The end of the day saw a brief sporadic E opening to Algeria, reaching 94 MHz. The opening served the purpose of answering the question will will have been on many DXer's lips: "Does Algeria have RDS yet?". The answer would appear to be "No". :O(
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
Wednesday, 30 April 2014
Skegness Log: 30-04-14 (FM)
Band 2 General Scatter:
93.9 1622 HOL RTV NH, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) 8618 RTV_NH__ and other scrolling
text 318km
95.5 1624 HOL BNR Nieuwsradio, Tjerkgaast/Alticom Toren (fri) OM on phone to YL, as web 360km
97.1 1627 HOL NPO 3FM, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) 8203 __3FM___ 3FM_BNN_ 318km
99.1 1630 HOL 100% NL, Tjerkgaast/Alticom Toren (fri) Presumed Tjerkgaast. Vocal ID 360km
99.6 1631 HOL Slam!FM, Hoorn/Electronweg (nho) Jingle ID 325km
100.1 1632 HOL BNR Nieuwsradio, Ijsselstein/Gerbrandytoren-Alticom (utr) OM and YL,
as web 344km
101.6 1638 HOL NPO Radio 4, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) 8204 RADIO4NL 318km
101.8 1640 HOL Waterstad FM, Leeuwarden/Ceresweg (fri) Pops, as web. Struggling against
Tournai 369km
103.0 1642 HOL Radio Veronica, Lelystad/Alticom Toren (fle) 83E1 VERONICA 350km
103.5 1642 HOL Radio Veronica, Roosendaal/Alticom Toren (nbr) Presenter ID in phone-in 334km
107.1 1650 HOL Radio Enkhuizen, Enkhuizen/Gerard Brandtweg (nho) 50 Watts! Lily Allen or
soundalike, as web 335km **
102.1 1704 HOL Radio 538, Hilversum/Media Park-Alticom (nho) Vocal ID and ads 341km
98.7 1707 HOL Freez FM, Smilde/Alticom Toren (dre) Pops, Pop and Rock jingle ID 407km
98.5 1709 HOL Freez FM, Tjerkgaast/Alticom Toren (fri) Presume Tjerkgaast. Roxy Music track,
as 98.7 360km **
96.6 1713 HOL Radio Veronica, Goes/Alticom Toren (zee) OM and pops, as web 303km
95.7 1715 HOL Fresh FM, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) Banging beats, as web 320km
95.3 1716 HOL BNR Nieuwsradio, Zwollerkerspel/Alticom Toren (ove) End of ad and OM, as web
396km
94.7 1717 HOL NPO Radio 4, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) 8204 RADIO4NL R4_NCRV_
313km
93.8 1719 HOL Slam!FM, Megen/Alticom Toren (nbr) ID and slamming beats 387km
92.9 1721 HOL NPO Radio 2, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) 8202 RADIO_2_ RADINCRV
(Corrupted PS) 318km
104.6 1732 HOL 100% NL, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) 83D3 100%_NL_ 313km
102.7 1736 HOL Radio 538, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) 83C7 RADIO538 313km
107.5 1811 HOL Scheldemond FM, Oostburg/Watertoren (zee) Sounds like a Dutch Benny Hill style
song, as web 296km
104.2 2022 HOL RADIONL, Alkmaar/Alticom Mast (nho) Just audible in noise. Dutch music,
as web 304km
89.3 2040 HOL 89,3 Radio West, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) Pops,
as web 313km
103.5 2111 HOL Radio Gelderland, Ugchelen/Alticom Toren (gel) OM talk, as web 391km
102.3 2120 HOL Radio 538, Multiple sites 83C7
92.1 2128 D Funkhaus Europa, Schiffdorf [nds] (Bremerhaven) (bre) ID in live concert 554km
88.3 2137 D Nordwestradio, Bremen-Walle (bre) YL vocal ID 565km
96.4 2143 D NDR Info, Aurich (nds) YL, as web 478km
104.9 2143 D Antenne Niedersachsen, Aurich (nds) D389 478km
95.8 2145 D NDR 1 Niedersachsen, Aurich (nds) D381 478km
107.1 2154 D Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Bremen-Walle (bre) D210 __DLF___ 565km
90.0 2155 D NDR Kultur, Aurich (nds) OM talk, as web. No RDS but slight co-channel noise
478km
87.6 2156 D NDR 2, Hamburg-Moorfleet (ham) German pops, as 98.1 650km
96.4 2158 D NDR Info, Aurich (nds) German OM, as web 478km
96.7 2158 D Funkhaus Europa, Bremen-Walle (bre) Live concert, as web 565km
95.4 2200 D Nordwestradio, Schiffdorf [nds] (Bremerhaven) (bre) ID and news 554km
93.8 2201 D bremen eins, Bremen-Walle (bre) D341 565km
90.3 2207 D NDR 90,3, Hamburg-Moorfleet (ham) Pops, as web 650km
103.6 2232 D Radio Hamburg, Hamburg-Moorfleet (ham) ID jingle and station promo 650km
104.3 2306 D Antenne Niedersachsen, Lingen-Damaschke (nds) Pops, as 105.7 477km
103.7 2308 D NDR Info, Molbergen-Peheim (Cloppenburg) (nds) 1.6kW. V weak. Pops, as web
504km
100.8 2310 D Bremen Vier, Schiffdorf [nds] (Bremerhaven) (bre) Pops, as 101.2 554km
** Personal Skegness 'First'
I have no idea where this tropo came from. Nothing was forecast and nothing was showing up on the maps. It looks like it was just this particular area which enjoyed the conditions.
At the time of the opening, the weather was interesting to say the least. Humidity was high, up around 100%. While the sun was out here, the sea front was shrouded in sea mist which could be seen blowing in like smoke from the North Sea, which was invisible unless you were within a few yards of it. We had taken the dogs to the beach and I had my Degen DE1103 with me as I wondered if the mist would cause any enhancement. Belgium and Holland were slightly up but not by much. It wasn't until returning home that I put the 9.2 vertical and discovered lots of Dutch signals at good strengths up at around 39dB.
This opening persisted from mid-afternoon until late evening, when I noticed Antenne Niedersachsen, Steinkimmen on 105.7 - on the vertical 9.2! Returning to the horizontal position, there were some good signals from the Niedersachsen area of Germany.
Around 3am, we were woken by a thunder storm. Time to unplug the aerial! There were a few thunder storms trundling their way north-by-north-eastward and had been during the late evening.
I was not DXing alone though as I had been experimenting with some new software called TeamViewer www.teamviewer.com. This had been recommended to me by Cedric in France. Andy in Wigan and Dave in Brighton were both tuning along with me. Quite a weird experience to watch the radio apparently tuning itself! I will write about TeamViewer in a separate post as I also wanted to try Chrome Remote Desktop too, both for the computer and for the mobile. More about that soon.
Time to unplug the aerial again as I hear more thunder. :O{
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
93.9 1622 HOL RTV NH, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) 8618 RTV_NH__ and other scrolling
text 318km
95.5 1624 HOL BNR Nieuwsradio, Tjerkgaast/Alticom Toren (fri) OM on phone to YL, as web 360km
97.1 1627 HOL NPO 3FM, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) 8203 __3FM___ 3FM_BNN_ 318km
99.1 1630 HOL 100% NL, Tjerkgaast/Alticom Toren (fri) Presumed Tjerkgaast. Vocal ID 360km
99.6 1631 HOL Slam!FM, Hoorn/Electronweg (nho) Jingle ID 325km
100.1 1632 HOL BNR Nieuwsradio, Ijsselstein/Gerbrandytoren-Alticom (utr) OM and YL,
as web 344km
101.6 1638 HOL NPO Radio 4, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) 8204 RADIO4NL 318km
101.8 1640 HOL Waterstad FM, Leeuwarden/Ceresweg (fri) Pops, as web. Struggling against
Tournai 369km
103.0 1642 HOL Radio Veronica, Lelystad/Alticom Toren (fle) 83E1 VERONICA 350km
103.5 1642 HOL Radio Veronica, Roosendaal/Alticom Toren (nbr) Presenter ID in phone-in 334km
107.1 1650 HOL Radio Enkhuizen, Enkhuizen/Gerard Brandtweg (nho) 50 Watts! Lily Allen or
soundalike, as web 335km **
102.1 1704 HOL Radio 538, Hilversum/Media Park-Alticom (nho) Vocal ID and ads 341km
98.7 1707 HOL Freez FM, Smilde/Alticom Toren (dre) Pops, Pop and Rock jingle ID 407km
98.5 1709 HOL Freez FM, Tjerkgaast/Alticom Toren (fri) Presume Tjerkgaast. Roxy Music track,
as 98.7 360km **
96.6 1713 HOL Radio Veronica, Goes/Alticom Toren (zee) OM and pops, as web 303km
95.7 1715 HOL Fresh FM, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) Banging beats, as web 320km
95.3 1716 HOL BNR Nieuwsradio, Zwollerkerspel/Alticom Toren (ove) End of ad and OM, as web
396km
94.7 1717 HOL NPO Radio 4, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) 8204 RADIO4NL R4_NCRV_
313km
93.8 1719 HOL Slam!FM, Megen/Alticom Toren (nbr) ID and slamming beats 387km
92.9 1721 HOL NPO Radio 2, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) 8202 RADIO_2_ RADINCRV
(Corrupted PS) 318km
104.6 1732 HOL 100% NL, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) 83D3 100%_NL_ 313km
102.7 1736 HOL Radio 538, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) 83C7 RADIO538 313km
107.5 1811 HOL Scheldemond FM, Oostburg/Watertoren (zee) Sounds like a Dutch Benny Hill style
song, as web 296km
104.2 2022 HOL RADIONL, Alkmaar/Alticom Mast (nho) Just audible in noise. Dutch music,
as web 304km
89.3 2040 HOL 89,3 Radio West, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) Pops,
as web 313km
103.5 2111 HOL Radio Gelderland, Ugchelen/Alticom Toren (gel) OM talk, as web 391km
102.3 2120 HOL Radio 538, Multiple sites 83C7
92.1 2128 D Funkhaus Europa, Schiffdorf [nds] (Bremerhaven) (bre) ID in live concert 554km
88.3 2137 D Nordwestradio, Bremen-Walle (bre) YL vocal ID 565km
96.4 2143 D NDR Info, Aurich (nds) YL, as web 478km
104.9 2143 D Antenne Niedersachsen, Aurich (nds) D389 478km
95.8 2145 D NDR 1 Niedersachsen, Aurich (nds) D381 478km
107.1 2154 D Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Bremen-Walle (bre) D210 __DLF___ 565km
90.0 2155 D NDR Kultur, Aurich (nds) OM talk, as web. No RDS but slight co-channel noise
478km
87.6 2156 D NDR 2, Hamburg-Moorfleet (ham) German pops, as 98.1 650km
96.4 2158 D NDR Info, Aurich (nds) German OM, as web 478km
96.7 2158 D Funkhaus Europa, Bremen-Walle (bre) Live concert, as web 565km
95.4 2200 D Nordwestradio, Schiffdorf [nds] (Bremerhaven) (bre) ID and news 554km
93.8 2201 D bremen eins, Bremen-Walle (bre) D341 565km
90.3 2207 D NDR 90,3, Hamburg-Moorfleet (ham) Pops, as web 650km
103.6 2232 D Radio Hamburg, Hamburg-Moorfleet (ham) ID jingle and station promo 650km
104.3 2306 D Antenne Niedersachsen, Lingen-Damaschke (nds) Pops, as 105.7 477km
103.7 2308 D NDR Info, Molbergen-Peheim (Cloppenburg) (nds) 1.6kW. V weak. Pops, as web
504km
100.8 2310 D Bremen Vier, Schiffdorf [nds] (Bremerhaven) (bre) Pops, as 101.2 554km
** Personal Skegness 'First'
I have no idea where this tropo came from. Nothing was forecast and nothing was showing up on the maps. It looks like it was just this particular area which enjoyed the conditions.
At the time of the opening, the weather was interesting to say the least. Humidity was high, up around 100%. While the sun was out here, the sea front was shrouded in sea mist which could be seen blowing in like smoke from the North Sea, which was invisible unless you were within a few yards of it. We had taken the dogs to the beach and I had my Degen DE1103 with me as I wondered if the mist would cause any enhancement. Belgium and Holland were slightly up but not by much. It wasn't until returning home that I put the 9.2 vertical and discovered lots of Dutch signals at good strengths up at around 39dB.
This opening persisted from mid-afternoon until late evening, when I noticed Antenne Niedersachsen, Steinkimmen on 105.7 - on the vertical 9.2! Returning to the horizontal position, there were some good signals from the Niedersachsen area of Germany.
Around 3am, we were woken by a thunder storm. Time to unplug the aerial! There were a few thunder storms trundling their way north-by-north-eastward and had been during the late evening.
I was not DXing alone though as I had been experimenting with some new software called TeamViewer www.teamviewer.com. This had been recommended to me by Cedric in France. Andy in Wigan and Dave in Brighton were both tuning along with me. Quite a weird experience to watch the radio apparently tuning itself! I will write about TeamViewer in a separate post as I also wanted to try Chrome Remote Desktop too, both for the computer and for the mobile. More about that soon.
Time to unplug the aerial again as I hear more thunder. :O{
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
Tuesday, 29 April 2014
Skegness Log: 29-04-14 (FM)
Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
103.2 1832 CZE CRo Dvojka, Votice/Mezivrata (ST) Czech YL song, as web 1069km **
106.6 1858 D SWR4 Baden-Württemberg, Waldenburg (bwü) German OM/YL song, as web 786km **
94.9 2127 F France Inter, Bourges/Neuvy (18) Brief burst of modern R&B song, as web. Belmont almost nulled with 9.2 672km **
Band 2 General Scatter:
100.4 1223 D WDR 2, Bonn/Venusberg (nrw) Meatloaf song, as 93.2 538km
107.3 1224 D hr4, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) Dana Winner song, as web 729km
100.9 1225 D Hit Radio FFH, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) Barely audible. Ads, as web.
Mixing Wrotham and Schoten 729km
107.2 1229 D WDR Eins Live, Ederkopf (nrw) Pops, as 106.7 592km
107.0 1230 D WDR Eins Live, Olsberg (nrw) Ads, as 106.7 592km
105.3 1231 D B5 aktuell, Kreuzberg (Rhön) (bay) German OM, as web 732km
90.7 1233 D WDR 4, Bonn/Venusberg (nrw) Pops, as web 538km
96.4 1421 D NDR Info, Aurich (nds) YL info (traffic?), musical jingle 478km
102.5 1658 D hr4, Großer Feldberg (Taunus)/hr (hes) Noise free. German pop song, as web 647km
94.9 2049 G BBC London 94.9, London/Crystal Palace (EN-GTL) Phone in. As web. Belmont down
to 7dB, nulled by 9.2 194km
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Meteor Scatter Notes:
I almost nulled BBC Radio Lincolnshire on 94.9 this evening, reducing it to around 7dBf (GTK display). This allowed BBC Radio London to join in every now and again at equal levels. I then recorded a few web streams and was pleased to hear France inter, presumably from the Bourges transmitter, briefly dominate the very weak Bemont via meteor scatter.
Aircraft/General Scatter Notes:
Since I now appear to be able to receive transmitters like Heidelstein, Hoher Meissner, Torfhaus and Kreuzberg Rhon on a regular daily basis, often at noise free levels during scatter peaks, I wonder how useful such loggings are. I know some DXers like to see all loggings as a representation of the conditions, even if they are sometimes on the repetitive side, but I suspect that many DXers do not. In view of the Es season being upon us I will leave out most of these duplicate loggings in future and only post them here occasionally.
For the last few days I have been able to listen to Brocken on 94.6 almost constantly, with regular fading of course. Even some the signal can last many minutes, never quite dropping out completely. This makes me wonder what summertime scatter conditions will bring. Maybe I will be able to increase on my current scatter distance record.
Thinking about scatter, Kenwick Top is spectacular for this with transmitters like Raichburg, Sonneburg and Remda coming in noise free whenever I have visited. I have never heard these via scatter from home and they will now become my 'target' transmitters at home. I may need a lot of luck here due to my location being low down, almost at sea level.
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
103.2 1832 CZE CRo Dvojka, Votice/Mezivrata (ST) Czech YL song, as web 1069km **
106.6 1858 D SWR4 Baden-Württemberg, Waldenburg (bwü) German OM/YL song, as web 786km **
94.9 2127 F France Inter, Bourges/Neuvy (18) Brief burst of modern R&B song, as web. Belmont almost nulled with 9.2 672km **
Band 2 General Scatter:
100.4 1223 D WDR 2, Bonn/Venusberg (nrw) Meatloaf song, as 93.2 538km
107.3 1224 D hr4, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) Dana Winner song, as web 729km
100.9 1225 D Hit Radio FFH, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) Barely audible. Ads, as web.
Mixing Wrotham and Schoten 729km
107.2 1229 D WDR Eins Live, Ederkopf (nrw) Pops, as 106.7 592km
107.0 1230 D WDR Eins Live, Olsberg (nrw) Ads, as 106.7 592km
105.3 1231 D B5 aktuell, Kreuzberg (Rhön) (bay) German OM, as web 732km
90.7 1233 D WDR 4, Bonn/Venusberg (nrw) Pops, as web 538km
96.4 1421 D NDR Info, Aurich (nds) YL info (traffic?), musical jingle 478km
102.5 1658 D hr4, Großer Feldberg (Taunus)/hr (hes) Noise free. German pop song, as web 647km
94.9 2049 G BBC London 94.9, London/Crystal Palace (EN-GTL) Phone in. As web. Belmont down
to 7dB, nulled by 9.2 194km
Meteor Scatter Notes:
I almost nulled BBC Radio Lincolnshire on 94.9 this evening, reducing it to around 7dBf (GTK display). This allowed BBC Radio London to join in every now and again at equal levels. I then recorded a few web streams and was pleased to hear France inter, presumably from the Bourges transmitter, briefly dominate the very weak Bemont via meteor scatter.
Aircraft/General Scatter Notes:
Since I now appear to be able to receive transmitters like Heidelstein, Hoher Meissner, Torfhaus and Kreuzberg Rhon on a regular daily basis, often at noise free levels during scatter peaks, I wonder how useful such loggings are. I know some DXers like to see all loggings as a representation of the conditions, even if they are sometimes on the repetitive side, but I suspect that many DXers do not. In view of the Es season being upon us I will leave out most of these duplicate loggings in future and only post them here occasionally.
For the last few days I have been able to listen to Brocken on 94.6 almost constantly, with regular fading of course. Even some the signal can last many minutes, never quite dropping out completely. This makes me wonder what summertime scatter conditions will bring. Maybe I will be able to increase on my current scatter distance record.
Thinking about scatter, Kenwick Top is spectacular for this with transmitters like Raichburg, Sonneburg and Remda coming in noise free whenever I have visited. I have never heard these via scatter from home and they will now become my 'target' transmitters at home. I may need a lot of luck here due to my location being low down, almost at sea level.
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
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